Meet a Geologist

Saturday, August 23

2:00-3:00 p.m.

Meet geologist Naomi Marks and science communicator Nicole Kurtz, who will share their work on Expedition 345 at Hess Deep Rift sampling the rapidly-formed rocks of the oceanic crust, offering insight into the geological processes that form the structure of the Earth itself.

Nicole Kurtz
Nicole is a science educator and was one of three education officers on Expedition 345. Nicole obtained her BFA in Medical Illustration from the Cleveland Institute of Art with a Minor in Fiber and Material Studies. Upon completion of her degree, she developed a thesis focused on the necessity of art in scientific discovery. Her techniques utilize skills of authoring, communicating, leading and designing scientific content and translating it for the lay audiences as well as the science community. On Expedition 345, she created visuals and animations as well as curricula to help science educators explain the significance of the voyage to diverse learning audiences.

Naomi Marks
Naomi is a geologist who served as a metamorphic petrologist on Expedition 345: Hess Deep Plutonic Crust, undertaken by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program in December 2012-February 2013. She is a geochemist working at Lawrence Livermore National Labs studying the effects of hydrothermal alteration in mid ocean ridge settings. Her other research projects use meteorites and lunar samples to discover more about the formation of the moon and planets.